page_title: Mark 11
section_title: Triumphal entry into Jerusalem
hierarchical_section_title: Mark 11 / Triumphal entry into Jerusalem
context_page_description: Mark 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, beginning Jesus' final week before his death as he arrives in Jerusalem for the coming Passover. It contains the stories of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, his cursing of the fig tree, his conflict with the Temple money changers, and his argument with the chief priests and elders about his authority.
context_section_description: Jesus and his disciples approach Bethphage and Bethany, towns on the edge of Jerusalem. Bethany was about two miles (3.2 km) east of the city on the Mount of Olives. Zechariah 14:4 has the final messianic battle occurring on the Mount of Olives. Bethphage is Aramaic for house of unripe figs, perhaps Mark's foreshadowing of the story of the fig tree.
  Jesus instructs two unnamed disciples to go ahead to the town and get a colt, by which he almost assuredly means a young donkey, which he says will be tied up and has never been ridden, for him to ride. This is to fulfill Messianic prophecies, such as Zechariah 9:9, which is quoted in every Gospel except Mark. He instructs them that if anyone questions them to say "The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly." (3), where Mark uses a double entendre as the "Lord" is meant as the owner of the colt and Jesus. The two go and find the colt as Jesus had predicted and start to untie it and people standing nearby ask what they are up to and they tell them what Jesus told them to say and amazingly they leave them alone. Mark leaves the event seemingly showing Jesus' power of prediction, but it could be argued that the people already knew Jesus as this town was his base of operations over the next several days: according to Mark and the other Gospels, Jesus also had friends there including Lazarus, his sisters, and Simon the Leper.
  They bring the colt back to Jesus and put their cloaks on it and Jesus rides it into Jerusalem and people lay their cloaks and tree branches before him, singing him praise as the Son of David and a line from Psalm 118:25-26:
  "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!"
  The Textus Receptus repeats the words ἑν ὀνόματι Κυρίου (en onomati kuriou, "in the name of the Lord") in verse 10 as well as verse 9:
  "Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord!"
  The ancient Codex Alexandrinus supports the duplication, but other early manuscripts, the Vulgate and the writings of Origen omit these words from verse 10.
  The quotation from the Psalms is significant, as the composition of the Psalms is traditionally ascribed to King David. The word ὡσαννά, (Hosanna, "save us please") is derived from Aramaic (הושע נא) (see Aramaic of Jesus#Hosana) from Hebrew (הושיעה נא) (Psalm 118:25, הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא), meaning "help" or "save, I pray", "an appeal that became a liturgical formula; as part of the Hallel ... familiar to everyone in Israel."
  This event is celebrated by Christians as Palm Sunday, as the Gospel of John says the branches were taken from Palm trees.
  Where this entry took place is unknown, some believing it was through what is now called the Golden Gate where it was believed the messiah would enter Jerusalem. Others think he might have used an entrance to the south that had stairs that led directly to the Temple. He goes into the city and checks out the Temple, but because it is late he leaves and goes back to Bethany. There were two areas of the Temple, the main area of the building where people's activity took place and the inner sanctuary, also called the Temple, where the power of God was thought to reside.
caption: Einzug Christi in Jerusalem by Meister der Palastkapelle
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